Counselling

What is Counselling?

Counselling is a talking therapy which should be delivered by a trained and insured professional, which allows clients time and space to talk about any problems or worries they may have, without being judged and is completely confidential.

A counsellor will not give advice, but can help clients to gain insight not only into their feelings, thoughts and behaviour but also possible patterns that may emerge in their life. Counselling can work in the here and now, reach back into the past and be used to deal with uncovering and healing the after-effects of trauma, emotional pain and the consequences thereof.

The aim of counselling is to help a client become more “in charge” of their own life: able to cope with challenges that they may face in the future, in control of their thoughts, feelings and emotions, and aims to promote a client’s overall well-being.

How does it differ from Coaching?

While coaching and counselling share some attributes, such as being non-judgemental, empathic and looking to a client’s well-being and ability to cope, my view is that Counselling aims to help a client heal or fix a problem and if that’s not possible, then the aim is for the client to be able to “cope” with such problem. With Coaching however, the client is already able to cope, takes personal responsibility for their actions and consequences thereof and is not only ready to embrace change, but actively looking to create new opportunities and get “more” out of their life.